Pamphleteer Thomas Paine was the quintessential revolutionary, and personified the explosiveness of the late 18th century. Even John Adams, long a critic of Paine, wondered in 1805 "whether any man in the world has had more influence on its inhabitants or affairs for the last 30 years." Adams satirically suggested that this revolutionary era should not be called the Age of Reason, after the title of Paine's last major work, but rather "the Age of Paine." This book profiles the enigmatic figure in his own words, compiling more than 1,000 quotations from Paine's letters, speeches, and publications, including Common Sense and The American Crisis.